Gov't took lead in ventilator corruption investigations: President's Office

The President's Office released a press statement on Saturday, stating that the government had taken the lead and provided full cooperation in investigating the corruption suspected on behalf of the Ministry of Health in procuring ventilators for Covid-19 patients.

The statement by the President's Office asserted that the government had taken the lead in initiating investigations into the ventilator corruption case after reviewing the findings of the audit. The statement added that the government would be taking steps to ensure that independent investigations would progress without external influences.

Further, the statements notes that all employees of the state and government officials suspected in this case will be suspended until the investigations conclude, and that the government will provide access to all the information needed for authorities to investigate the case in full.

The statement by the President's Office also affirmed that the Prosecutor General and the Attorney General are both granted autonomous authority under the Maldivian constitution to pursue convictions, while being free of external political influences and personal interests.

Under the leadership of former Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen, the Health Ministry had signed an agreement with Dubai's Executors General Trading in order to acquire 75 ventilators for Covid-19 patients. While the company had only delivered 15 ventilators to the Maldives, the Health Ministry had issued MVR 30.91 million to them without a prior guarantee when the agreement was initially made. As such, with suspected corruption on behalf of state officials, an investigation was launched into the case by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Maldives Police Service (MPS).

Since then, the Prosecutor General's Office has stated that they will not be pursuing charges in this case, citing a lack of evidence to secure a conviction in court. While the PGO had previously declined to pursue charges in this case, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has since declared that the PGO will still be seeking charges if the money trail is established in order to identify which account the embezzled funds had been transferred to.

Former President and Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has expressed disappointment in the lack of progress to prosecute suspects in the ventilator corruption case, declaring that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) does not want to be associated with a thieving government. Speaker Nasheed has also publicly called for the resignation of PG Shameem over the matter, which has been hotly debated by senior government officials over the past few days.